International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 2, Issue 2, February 2012 1

ISSN 2250-3153

Wind Turbine Blade Efficiency and Power Calculation

with Electrical Analogy
Asis Sarkar*, Dhiren Kumar Behera**

* National Institute of Technology, Agarthala, Tripura State, India

**Dept of Mechanical Engineering, I.G.I.T SARANG, ODISHA, INDIA

Abstract- Wind turbines work by converting the kinetic

energy in the wind first into rotational kinetic energy in the
turbine and then electrical energy that can be supplied. The
energy available for conversion mainly depends on the wind
speed and the swept area of the turbine. A 1kW @ 11m/s, 1
meter diameter wind turbine designed with the support of
software. The wind turbine blades power and efficiency has
been measured at different tip-speed-ratios as well as
calculated using software tool. The wind turbine blades power
Figure 1: Mechanical components of wind turbine.
and efficiency has been measured at different tip-speed-ratios
and a maximum efficiency of 30% at a TSR of 11.6 was
recorded, verifying the blade calculator’s accuracy. This paper
is an insight into the design aspects of a wind turbine, like
turbine blade design, wind power and output power
calculation.

Index Terms- wind turbine, betz limit, tip speed ratio

(TSR), blade efficiency

I. INTRODUCTION Figure 2 : Electrical components of wind turbine.

P ower production from a wind turbine is a function of wind

speed. The relationship between wind speed and power is
defined by a power curve, which is unique to each turbine
Usually, WTBs are designed to operate for a period of 20
years. But, no final statement can be made yet concerning the
actual life expectancy of modern WTBs as, until now, no
model and, in some cases, unique to site-specific settings. In
operational experience of such period is available.
general, most wind turbines begin to produce power at wind
speeds of about 4 m/s (9 mph), achieve rated power at
approximately 13 m/s (29 mph), and stop power production at
25 m/s (56 mph). Variability in the wind resource results in the
turbine operating at continually changing power levels. At
good wind energy sites, this variability results in the turbine
operating at approximately 35% of its total possible capacity
when averaged over a year.
The amount of electricity produced from a wind turbine
depends on three factors:
1) Wind speed : The power available from the wind is a
function of the cube of the wind speed. Therefore if the wind
blows at twice the speed, its energy content will increase
eight-fold. Turbines at a site where the wind speed averages 8
m/s produce around 75-100% more electricity than those Figure 3 : Frequency of ‘failure rate’ with increasing
where the average wind speed is 6 m/s. operational age
2) Wind turbine availability : This is the capability to operate
when the wind is blowing, i.e. when the wind turbine is not Changes in reliability with increasing operational age can,
undergoing maintenance. This is typically 98% or above for however, provide indications of the expected lifetime and the
modern European machines. amount of upkeep required. Reliability can be expressed by
3) The way wind turbines are arranged : Wind farms are laid the number of failures per unit of time, i. e. ‘Failure Rate’. In
out so that one turbine does not take the wind away from the following, the failure rates of WTBs depending on their
another. However other factors such as environmental operational age will be depicted (Fig. 3).
considerations, visibility and grid connection requirements
often take precedence over the optimum wind capture layout.

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International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 2, Issue 2, February 2012
ISSN 2250-3153
Figure 4: Share of the main components of total number of
failures
It is clear that the failure rates of the WTs now installed,
have almost continually declined in the first operational years.
This is true for the older turbines under 500 kW and for the
500/600 kW class. However, the group of mega-watt WTs
show a significantly higher failure rate, which also declines by
increasing age. But, including now more and more mega-watt.
WTB models of the newest generation, the failure rate in the
first year of operation is being reduced.
Down time per failure [days]
Figure 5: Down time of wind turbine system components
Wind turbines achieve an excellent technical availability of
about 98% on average, although they have to face a high
number of malfunctions.
II. IMPROVING SYSTEM LIABILITY
A. Identify Critical Components
2
Within any complex system, certain components will stand
out as high-risk items, either because they are ‘weak points’
that are demonstrated to be failure prone, are absolutely
essential to turbine operation, or are expensive and time-
consuming to diagnose and repair. Identifying the critical
components allows the O&M staff to direct their monitoring,
training, inventory, and logistics efforts on areas that will
provide the most benefit.
Although to some extent the critical components depend on
the manufacturer, configuration, and operating environment,
certain candidates for attention (gearboxes, generators, and
power converters, for example) are well known throughout the
industry. Minor components, though perhaps less costly to
replace or repair, may be elevated to a critical status if their
frequency of failure is high.
B. Characterize Failure Modes
Understanding the failure mode allows the maintenance
staff to focus monitoring efforts and potentially delay or
prevent catastrophic failures. A generator short may be
difficult to predict, but gearbox bearing or gear wear may be
detected early with scrupulous lubricant monitoring and/or
“condition” monitoring, and the progression of damage
possibly mitigated with more frequent oil changes or better
filtering. An understanding of the way in which a failure
progresses is essential to ensuring that staff avoid
consequential damage due to unanticipated breakage.
Figure 6: Reliability block diagram of wind turbine
C. Determine the Root Cause
Although the wind plant operator may be primarily
interested in replacing a failed component and getting their
machine back on-line, a failure always represents an
opportunity for improvement. Most wind turbine
manufacturers include failure analysis as an essential part of
their continuous quality improvement process. Evaluating the
root cause of a major component failure is essential to
determining if the failure is due to manufacturing quality,
product misapplication, design error, or inappropriate design
assumptions. This information, in turn, assists the
manufacturer in determining if the problem is an isolated
instance or a systemic problem that is likely to result in serial
failures. In the latter case, retrofits or redesigns will be
required and a field replacement plan will be developed.
It can be assumed that these good availability figures can
only be achieved by a high number of service teams who
respond to turbine failures within short time. In order to
further improve the reliability of WTBs, the designers have to
better the electric and electronic components. This is
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International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 2, Issue 2, February 2012
ISSN 2250-3153
particularly true and absolutely necessary in the case of new
and large turbines.
III. TURBINE BLADE DESIGN
Tip Seep Ratio(TSR) : Select a value for the Tip Speed
Ratio (TSR) which is defined as : TIP SPEED RATIO (TSR)
= (tip speed of lade)/(wind speed). The tip speed ratio is a
very important factor in the different formulas of blade design.
Generally can be said, that slow running multi bladed wind
turbine rotors operate with tip speed ratios like 1-4, while fast
runners use 5-7 as tip speed ratios.
The task is now to fit the known generator capacity and
revolutions to the wind speed and to the swept rotor area. Two
formulas are needed:
Power (W) = 0.6 x Cp x N x A x V3, Revolutions (rpm) = V x
TSR x 60 / (6.28 x R), Cp = Rotor efficiency, N = Efficiency
of driven machinery, A = Swept rotor area (m2), V = Wind
speed (m/s) TSR = Tip Speed Ratio , R = Radius of rotor ,
Rotor efficiency can go as high as Cp = 0.48, but Cp = 0.4 is
often used in this type of calculations.
This concept works without transmission. If a transmission
with efficiency of 0.95 was to be included this means that
N = 0.95 x 0.7 ,
Tip speed ratio "TSR" = 7"
Wind speed "V" = 8.6 m/s
Rotor efficiency "Cp" = 0.4
Generator efficiency "N" = 0.7
Swept rotor area "A" = 2.11 M2
Radius of rotor = 0.82 m
Revolutions = 701 rpm
Power output = 226 W.
The width of the blade is also called the blade chord. A
good formula for computing this is: Blade Chord (m) = 5.6 x
R2 / (i x Cl x r x TSR2), R = Radius at tip, r = radius at point of
computation, i = number of blades, Cl = Lift coefficient, TSR
= Tip Speed Ratio.
IV. CALCULATION OF WIND POWER
There are many complicated calculations and equations
involved in understanding and constructing wind turbine
generators however the layman need not worry about most of
these and should instead ensure they remember the following
vital information:
1) The power output of a wind generator is proportional to the
area swept by the rotor - i.e. double the swept area and the
power output will also double.
2) The power output of a wind generator is proportional to the
cube of the wind speed.
Kinetic Energy = 0.5 x Mass x Velocity2, where the mass is
measured in kg, the velocity in m/s, and the energy is given in
joules. Air has a known density (around 1.23 kg/m3 at sea
level), so the mass of air hitting our wind turbine. (which
sweeps a known area) each second is given by the following
equation: Mass/sec (kg/s) = Velocity (m/s) x Area (m2) x
Density (kg/m3). Therefore, the power (i.e. energy per second)
in the wind hitting a wind turbine with a certain swept area is
given by simply inserting the mass per second calculation into
the standard kinetic energy equation given above resulting in
the following vital equation: Power = 0.5 x Swept Area x Air
Density x Velocity3, where Power is given in Watts (i.e.
joules/second), the Swept area in square metres, the Air
density in kilograms per cubic metre, and the Velocity in
metres per second.
3
The equation for wind power(P) is given by P= 0.5 x ρ x A
x Cp x V3 x Ng x Nb where, ρ = Air density in kg/m3, A =
Rotor swept area (m2).
Cp = Coefficient of performance
V = wind velocity (m/s)
Ng = generator efficiency
Nb = gear box bearing efficiency.
The world's largest wind turbine generator has a rotor blade
diameter of 126 metres and so the rotors sweep an area of PI x
(diameter/2)2 = 12470 m2! As this is an offshore wind turbine,
we know it is situated at sea-level and so we know the air
density is 1.23 kg/m3. The turbine is rated at 5MW in 30mph
(14m/s) winds, and so putting in the known values will give,
Wind Power = 0.5 x 12,470 x 1.23 x (14 x 14 x 14),
which gives us a wind power of around 21,000,000 Watts.
Why is the power of the wind (21MW) so much larger than
the rated power of the turbine generator (5MW)? Because of
the Betz Limit, and inefficiencies in the system. The Betz law
means that wind turbines can never be better than 59.3%
efficient. The law can be simply explained by considering that
if all of the energy coming from wind movement into the
turbine were converted into useful energy then the wind speed
afterwards would be zero. But, if the wind stopped moving at
the exit of the turbine, then no more fresh wind could get in - it
would be blocked. In order to keep the wind moving through
the turbine, to keep getting energy, there has to be some wind
movement on the outside with energy left in it. There must be
a 'sweet spot' somewhere and there is, the Betz limit at 59.3%.
V. WIND TURBINE BLADE CALCULATION AND POWER
CALCULATION
Power, rotational speed and torque of the wind turbine can
be calculated using the free software Blade Calculator.
Table 1 : Output obtained for the given parameters
Power 1.02 KW
Rotational speed 77 rad/sec
Torque 13.25 Nm
The program display three power. The first power is the power
available in the wind for given wind speed and radius. The
second power is the Betz Power. This is the maximum power
can be extracted from the wind if there were no losses or
inefficiencies in the system. Please note that it is very difficult
to get the Betz power from any turbine. The last power which
is labeled as Real Power is the power you can get from the
turbine with the efficiency displayed in the screen. This kind
turbines will have 0 efficiency for wind speeds above 25 m/s,
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International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 2, Issue 2, February 2012 4
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meaning that turbine reached it is cut of speed and turned of to Parameter Unit Value
prevent damage to turbine. Rated power W 1000
Rated speed rpm 300
Rated frequency Hz 40
Rated EMF (per coil) V 33.6
Number of phases - 3
Number of pole pairs - 8
Number of armature - 12
coils
Generator diameter mm 462
Generator length mm 55

Table 3 : Rotational speed of turbine for different

wind speed(rpm)
Wind 25 21.5 15 10 6
Speed ohms ohms ohms ohms ohms
Figure 7 : Result obtained for a wind speed of 10m/s and
turbine efficiency 9%. 30km/h 820 766 809 - -
40km/h 1302 1363 851 645 -
50km/h 1753 1676 1489 1291 1105
VI. CALCULATION OF GENERATOR EFFICIENCY
60km/h - 2365 2098 1744 1607
The following conditions/status are assumed.
1. The 3 phases are isolated, and connected as 3 single Table 4 : Power in Watts
phase outputs. Wind 25 21.5 15 10 6
2. Each output is rectified to DC using asingle phase bridge Speed ohms ohms ohms ohms ohms
rectifier.
At 666rpm, generator voltage Vs = 65 Volts. 30km/h 208 205 300 - -
Rs = Resistance of each phase of the generator 40km/h 524 649 332 252 -
(5.6 Ohms), Voltage across Rs = 65 - 48 = Vs = 17 Volts, V =
IR and therefore V/R = I, Current into battery = 17/5.6 = 3 50km/h 950 981 1017 1008 940
amps per phase, P = VI. Power into battery = 48 x 3 = 144 60km/h - 1953 2019 1837 1990
watts per phase (432 watts for all 3 phases), P = V2/R, Power
Lost is = 172/5.6 = 51.6 per phase, Efficiency of generator = Table 5 : Blade efficiency of turbine
144/(144+51.6) = 73.6% (Theoretical) Wind 25 21.5 15 10 6
Speed ohms ohms ohms ohms ohms
30km/h 0.23 0.23 - - -
40km/h 0.24 0.30 0.15 - -
50km/h 0.22 0.23 0.24 0.24 -
60km/h - 0.27 0.27 0.25 0.27

Table 6 : Tip speed (km/hour)

Wind 25 21.5 15 10 6
Speed ohms ohms ohms ohms ohms
Figure 8 : One phase representation of generator 30km/h 278 260 275 - -
VII. MEASURED RESULTS 40km/h 441 463 289 218 -
Rs is the resistance of the generator windings plus the power 50km/h 595 569 506 438 375
cable; 5.75 ohms and Rl is the resistance of the load; 6.6, 10, 60km/h - 803 712 592 546
15, 21.5 an 25 ohms.
Table 7 : Tip speed ratio
Wind 25 21.5 15 10 6
Speed ohms ohms ohms ohms ohms
30km/h 9.2 8.7 9.2 - -
40km/h 11.0 11.6 7.2 5.5 -
50km/h 11.9 11.4 10.1 8.8 7.5
60km/h - 16.1 14.2 11.8 10.9
Figure 9 : Electrical analogy of wind turbine
Power generated by the blades was calculated by dividing
Table 2 : Specification and result for 1kw generator by the efficiency of the generator. Once the blades have been
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International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 2, Issue 2, February 2012 5
ISSN 2250-3153

characterized, a new generator will be designed. Powers

generated by the blades are calculated by the following:
Voltage across the resistor load was measured Vl,
Vs = Vl x [(Rs + Rl) / Rl ]. Power produced by blades, and lost
in generator, power cable and resistor load is given by;
P = V2/R
P = Vs2 / (Rs+Rl)

VIII. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE SCOPE

A 1kW @ 11m/s, 1 meter diameter wind turbine designed
with the support of software. The wind turbine blades power
and efficiency has been measured at different tip-speed-ratios
as well as calculated using software tool. The wind turbine
blades power and efficiency has been measured at different
tip-speed-ratios and a maximum efficiency of 30% at a TSR of
11.6 was recorded, verifying the blade calculator’s accuracy.
The environmental factors like wind direction, corrosion,
water vapour intrusion, thermal expansion, mechanical load,
summer-winter climate change, ageing and component
derating which degrades the performance can be considered
for estimating a more practical and accurate design.
REFERENCES
[1] Reliability of Wind Turbines Experiences of 15 years with 1,500 WTs
Berthold Hahn, Michael Durstewitz, Kurt Rohrig, Institut für Solare
Energieversorgungstechnik (ISET), Verein an der Universität Kassel
e.V., 34119 Kassel, Germany.
[2] SANDIA REPORT (20060), Unlimited Release, Printed March 2006
Wind Turbine Reliability: Understanding and Minimizing Wind Turbine
Operation and Maintenance Costs - Christopher A. Walford Global
Energy Concepts, Prepared by Sandia National Laboratories
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185 and Livermore, California 94550
[3] http://www.flapturbine.com/hawt_power_change_efficiency.html
[4] http://warlock.com.au/030504.htm
[5] Modeling of Wind Power Plants for Short Circuit Analysis in the
Transmission Network (2008), Nader Samaan, Member, Robert
Zavadil, Member, J. Charles Smith, Senior Member, and Jose Conto,
Member, IEEE , 978-1-4244-1904-3/08/$25.00 ©2008, IEEE.

First Author – Asis Sarkar, National Institute of Technology,

Agarthala – 799 001, Tripura State, India, sarkarasis6@gmail.com

Second Author – Dhiren Kumar Behera, Department of Mechanical

Engineering, IG Institute of Technology, Sarang, Odissa,India,
dkb_igit@rediffmail.com

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